Celebrating the Contributions of Dr. King on Race Relations

Sgt. 1st Class James Epps and Mary Peoples lead participants in a trivia game during the annual Martin Luther King celebration at the command headquarters in Redstone Arsenal, Ala., Jan. 13.

Kay Goodloe-Cutts, Wayne Bracy Jr. and Delores Epps were three of the five winners of calendars for their correct responses during a trivia game at the annual Martin Luther King celebration at U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command headquarters in Redstone Arsenal, Ala., Jan. 13.

Mary Peoples, Equal Employment Opportunity Office, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command, discusses the impact Dr. Martin Luther King's life had on America with the audience during the annual MLK celebration at the command headquarters in Redstone Arsenal, Ala., Jan. 13.

Sgt. 1st Class James Epps, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command equal opportunity advisor, thanks employees for their participation in the Martin Luther King celebration activities at the command headquarters in Redstone Arsenal, Ala., Jan. 13.

Ed Kiker, an employee at the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command, participates in open discussion during the annual Martin Luther King celebration at the command headquarters in Redstone Arsenal, Ala., Jan. 13.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. --In honor of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday on Jan. 17, employees at the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command attended a program celebrating the contributions of Dr. King concerning the issue of race relations. Despite inclement weather, nearly 75 employees attended the function in the Von Braun Complex Building 1 on Thursday, Jan. 13.

Sponsored by the Equal Employment Opportunity Office (EEO), the event began with a showing of Dr. King's famous 1963 "I have a dream" speech in Washington, D.C. Following the video, Mary Peoples of the EEO proposed three questions to the audience:

1. Did Dr. King's death have an impact on you as a person or citizen'
2. Would changes in race relations from the 1960s to today have happened anyway if Dr. King had never lived'
3. Did the life of Dr. King have any impact on the civil life of America' If so, how'

The three questions led to much discussion amongst the crowd, including comments about the current diversity in the workforce and how the media played a role in these changes. The biggest discussion generator came about from Juanita Sales Lee of the Legal Office, who brought up the differences between Dr. King's tactics and Malcom X's philosophy.

After the discussion, Peoples asked the audience trivia questions regarding the life of Dr. King. Those who answered the most questions were given a calendar that related to great moments in African American history. The calendars were purchased and distributed by Maj. Steve Johnson of G3.

The next event on the calendar for the EEO Office is the celebration of Black History Month in February. The EEO Office is also working on an online diversity training program, which is being planned by Sgt. 1st Class James Epps.